Just Listen
by MikazukiDreams
Summary: Because when it all comes down to this, a decision must be made; to listen to your head or to listen to your heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: **Because when it all comes down to this, a decision must be made; to listen to your head or to listen to your heart.

_**Standard disclaimer applies here**_

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**Just Listen**

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_Don__'__t think or judge; just listen._

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"Surely you are not considering such an option, Sasuke."

Silence filled the air. Dark onyx eyes bore into slim, snake-like ones, speaking the unspoken answer: _yes. _

"But Oto University has some very excellent programs to offer, Sasuke. Would you not even consider the options you already have?"

"I don't settle for _excellent, _Orochimaru. I settle for the _best. _And from what the papers and everything has been saying, Konoha University ranks the highest in every program there is."

Sasuke didn't need Orochimaru to voice out his hate for the well-known university, run by no other than Tsunade, who used to be one of Orochimaru's dear friends. His darkening eyes said it all. After all, he would be losing his best student. His _favorite _student.

But Sasuke didn't care for that.

"I want the transfer to be done by tomorrow. I'll have my stuff gone by morning."

Panic filled Orochimaru's system. This couldn't be happening! His prized student was the best thing out of all the dimwitted idiots that enrolled in his education system. Losing Sasuke would also mean losing the third-rank position he held for the best education in all of the villages. He didn't want that to happen.

"Why the rush? Perhaps you'll change your mind after a good night's rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow," Orochimaru drawled, hoping his antics would keep Sasuke from leaving… just for a little while.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't need you to make decisions for me. I handle my own problems, I walk my own path. I don't need you or anyone to interfere with that," he hissed dangerously. "If you're stupid enough to think that I'm going to fall for your meaningless words, think again." He stood up and marched out of the office, slamming the door behind him, nearly ripping off the doorknob in the process.

The slippery principal's yellow eyes glared furiously at the door.

Despite how many years he's taught the dark-haired boy, Sasuke Uchiha was still extremely difficult to control.

-x-

Sasuke plopped down on his hard, cold bed. He let out a loud sigh as he ran his fingers through his inky black hair.

It hadn't always been like this. There was a time when he had a caring mother who would listen to him; a stern father who would help steer him in the right direction; and a kind, older brother who would listen to his problems and support whatever decision Sasuke ever made.

But that was then, and this is now.

They were all gone now, murdered by a stupid, selfish, heartless bastard. Every single one. Never again would he be greeted by his mother's sweet smile, his father's proud smirk, his brother's understanding eyes. What really angered Sasuke was that the killer's mere reason was that he _despised _the Uchiha clan.

So Sasuke built a wall. A wall to protect himself. He learned that you should never love anyone, because the moment they're taken from you you're helpless and sad and utterly _broken. _You're lost in a murky cloud of confusion, wandering around with dead eyes listening to everybody's sugar-coated comments and seeing the aggravating _pity _that was not needed in their eyes.

Maybe that's why he moved from Suna to Oto. In Oto, nobody knew. Nobody looked at him with pity or give him a sad, knowing smile when he walked to the supermarket. He was a star in Oto; an all-around athlete, heartthrob, valedictorian. It was perfect.

But in Oto, everyone was so dull. Guys cared about making a name but never used their heads, girls cared for nothing but looks and hot guys, and vice versa. It was _easy _being the best in Oto.

He had come across an article one day in the school library, boasting about all the great things Konoha University had to offer. Whether it was all bullshit or real, Sasuke didn't care; but it seemed that in Konoha, there would be more challenges. There, he would see if he was truly the best.

-x-

By dawn, Sasuke had packed up all his belongings into a large, sturdy cardboard box and crammed it into the trunk of his silver Chevrolet Camaro.

He pulled out of the parking lot without even looking back once.

It was a few hours drive to Konoha, and Sasuke stopped by a small convenience store to buy a few energy drinks and a large coffee.

"Heading out of this village, huh?" Sasuke's head snapped up as he glanced at the cashier woman before him. She was probably in her late thirties, Sasuke guessed, and wasn't the best educated person out there. But her deep blue eyes held some kind of wisdom that was not gain from schoolbooks or textbooks, but from experience.

"Hn," he murmured.

The lady nodded briefly. "That's a smart decision. I wish I'd thought of that years ago, but I was so naïve to see what was important." Seeing Sasuke's attentive eyes watching her, confirming that he was listening, she continued. "I was set to go to Konoha University. Psychology was my major. My future was planned out before I even graduated, but when I did, everything fell apart." She took a deep breath.

"I fell in love with this boy. Plain as he was, he was charming and sweet and had me wrapped around his finger. He convinced me to switch schools and go to Oto to be with him. I was too careless and agreed, not bothering to think of the consequences to follow." Her gaze moved to the window.

"My parents were furious and disowned me, saying that I'd thrown away my bright future for a silly boy. I was too blinded by love to understand their words, but now I know. When I arrived in Oto, I found out the boy was a cheater. A player that played with my emotions and my heart. I was broken and hurt and I wanted to transfer back, but it was too late. My parents didn't want anything to do with me."

"Why didn't you do it on your own?" Sasuke butted in bluntly.

"I wasn't independent enough. So I went through two years before dropping out." She let out a sharp laugh. "To think, I was planning on becoming a psychologist to help others with their problems, but I couldn't even solve my own."

The woman looked at Sasuke dead in the eyes. "Sometimes you've got to listen to your head than your heart. A heart is easily confused by emotions, but a head; it contains a brain that'll help you make the right decisions." She gave him a small smile. Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Well, have a nice trip, kid. It was nice talkin' to ya," she sighed, before Sasuke exited the store.

-x-

After a few long hours of driving, Sasuke finally made it Konoha- or more specifically, Konoha University.

His dark eyes took in the view before him; tall iron gates secured the massive white building, preventing unwelcome strangers from wandering upon the property; lush green gardens brighten up the place. All in all, the entire place practically _screamed _success.

A smirk found its way to Sasuke's lips.

_So _this _is Konoha, huh…_

-x-

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**Note: **Hey, y'all. Tell me what you think!

-A


	2. Chapter 2

Sasuke got two options when he arrived at the front desk of the lush Konoha office: to rent an apartment off campus or to take a tiny, single furnished dorm on campus.

Clearly, he chose the one on campus. Not that he couldn't afford an apartment (which he definitely _could), _but it would be a waste of gas driving back and forth off and on campus to get to class every morning. Not to mention he'd have to waste precious time hunting down an apartment, when that time could be spent on studying and working out.

After all, he wasn't here to play. He was here to _conquer. _

-x-

A few hours after unpacking his belongings, Sasuke finally sat down tiredly on the plain bed in his new dorm. Picking up the scrap of paper that was his schedule, he raked his eyes over quickly, memorizing his classes and course codes before crumpling up the paper and tossing it in the trash.

The paper landed swiftly in the garbage can across the room, making a slight sound, before the room was silent again. Outside, loud chattering and laughing of busy student passing by interrupted the silence, but Sasuke didn't notice.

Lying down, Sasuke stared at the ceiling, contemplating whether or not he should check out the Konoha campus and see where everything was. No doubt about it; just by looking at the clean, fresh style of the outstanding Konoha University that contrasted so differently against University of Oto's style, which was dark and somewhat _dangerous. _Clearly, the way that they taught their students differed from Oto as well. In Oto, the teachers were lethal. You didn't understand? Too bad, drop out then. You were getting bullied? Suck it up, sweetheart. That's life. The teachers in Oto went at their pace, and their pace only; if you weren't on the ball, you were behind; and nobody got time to stop and help you up.

Since arriving in Konoha, though, and seeing the friendly face of the secretary (her name was Shizune, or that was what her name tag stated) and the strong and determined face of Tsunade, the long-time rival and former friend of _his _former mentor, something told him that Tsunade treated her workers differently than Orochimaru, and that the people at Konoha were much, much, _much _different than the ones in Oto.

For some reason, this discovery also brought out an unexpected longing for family and for home. Would his mother be happy, he mused, that he finally moved out of that dark town with all their useless people? Would his father be proud, he thought, that he was working for his name? Would Itachi approve, he wondered fondly, that he made the decision to move on?

They weren't there to confirm his thoughts, but Sasuke certainly hoped so.

-x-

First day was always the hardest, especially for Sasuke. Students always found it so fascinating that a new student would move in the middle of the semester, and who get too close and ask too many questions. Sasuke hated both things; people who invaded his personal space and people who talked too much.

And to make matters worse, they openly ogled him.

Well, the females did (and some of the guys, too, he discovered to his absolute _horror_), and not for the first time did Sasuke wish he was an ugly, ugly guy- but being an Uchiha, good looks ran in the family, and it was almost _impossible _for Sasuke to become ugly. He never understood _why _ladies found him so irresistible; in Oto, females from all ages would fawn over him, and when he pushed them away, they just came _closer. _

It was irregular. He had thought it was only the girls in Oto, but apparently he had the same effect on _everyone. _

"Hey, cutie," a girl with long, sleek black hair and an overbearing smell of perfume said, leaning over towards Sasuke as he was taking down notes in his first period class. "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

"Hn," he replied carelessly, his eyes never leaving the Smart board at the front of the classroom. Due to the special request he'd made-asking the teachers not to introduce him because frankly, he didn't want the attention- no one knew what his name was and he was fine with that.

"My name's Ami," the girl pressed on, in the horrendously disturbing voice that Sasuke guessed was supposed to be _sexy, _"Ami Watanbe. It's _so _nice to meet you!"

Not bothering to even answer her this time, Sasuke continued to jot down notes as the teacher, a kind professor by the name of Iruka, explained the context in full detail.

The girl (Ami) pouted and crossed her arms. "You're not very talkative, are you? Well that's okay, because I happen to find silent, dark guys like you to be very se-"

A voice interrupted whatever the Ami girl was about to say.

"Ami, stop rubbing your slutty hands all over the poor guy. I'm sure he doesn't want to catch any STIs on his first day here."

Ami whipped her head around furiously, and Sasuke turned his head slightly, too, to see who had spoken up. He met the cerulean blue gaze of a blonde boy, who had a mischievous but also annoyed expression morphed on his tanned face.

"Naruto, _shut the hell up! _Go stuff some ramen up your ass, you idiot!"

"Oh yeah, you bitch. I know they don't serve that stuff on that street corner you work on, but hey, maybe if you can actually keep a relationship _with one guy _for a _week_, maybe they'd take you to Ichiraku's and then you'll know that that stuff is the best."

By then, the girl was practically spitting out flames and glared viciously at the blonde boy.

"Are you calling me a _slut?_" she seethed, keeping her voice low to avoid attracting attention.

The blonde boy- Naruto- shrugged. "You said it, not me." Giving Ami a sarcastic grin, he added, "It's noticeable, don't worry. Everybody already knows."

"_NARUTO YOU JACKASS!" _she screeched, eyes flashing with anger.

The class went silent, as every pair of eyes landed on the black haired girl sitting beside Sasuke. Iruka paused.

"Ami, that language is unacceptable. What is going on over there?" Iruka sighed, and Sasuke guessed from the look on Iruka's face that this was not the first time something like so had happened.

Ami's face flamed, turning an absolute shade of tomato red, before she answered quietly, stuttering, "N-nothing, sir. I'll just be gone now."

Sasuke watched as Ami bolted out of the classroom and slammed the door viciously after her, and the only thing that remained was her perfume scent and a ringing in his ears.

-x-

Sasuke usually went back to dorm for lunch, and most of the time he didn't even eat lunch. But for some reason, when class was dismissed, he found himself walking to the university cafeteria.

The place was _packed. _He considered carrying his lunch back to dorm and eat while studying, but a loud voice rang over the crowd to him.

"Hey! Hey, new kid!"

Sasuke turned his head in irritation as he searched for the voice.

"Hey!" the person called again, and Sasuke heard footsteps behind him running up. He turned around again, and was face-to-face with the blonde boy- Naruto- from his morning class.

"Hey," Naruto said again, smiling. "You wanna sit with me at lunch? Me and a bunch of my friends sit in the back table, and when you're with us you won't have any problems," he continued, jerking his thumb towards a group of giggling girls that were eyeing Sasuke like a piece of meat.

Sasuke considered his options. He could either decline the offer (like he always did in Oto) and run back to his dorm, and risk getting chased and smothered by little hormone-raging girls along the way, or he could sit down and eat lunch _for this one time only _with this seemingly friendly blonde that saved his ass this morning.

His mother always told him that he should pay back others for their kind deeds, so Sasuke sighed and nodded his head.

His mother may be gone, but he still never had it in him to disappoint her.

-x-

Naruto's inner circle of friends all held some kind of authoritive, don't-mess-with-us kind of attitude. Clearly they ruled the school in some perspective, because when Sasuke followed Naruto to his table, he heard quiet whispers and murmurs of 'I _knew _he would be one of them!' and 'of course Naruto would take him in!'

At the table, there was three girls and five guys- each introducing themselves politely when Naruto explained Sasuke's situation.

There was a girl with long, shiny black hair and the most unique eyes he'd ever seen- pearly white, with a tinge of violet- who introduced herself in a shy voice; Hinata Hyuuga, he thought, as in the rich Hyuuga family that owned Hyuuga Industries. There was a boy with long, chestnut brown hair with the same kind of eyes as Hinata that introduced himself as Neji, who was Hinata's cousin.

By the time they were done, Sasuke felt like he knew them from a lifetime ago. They were all extremely friendly and polite, and none of the girls moved to jump him (thank god).

There was Ino, a loud blonde that seemed like a fierce feminist and boy-crazy at the same time; Shikamaru, a lazy genius, as Naruto blurted that Shikamaru had an IQ over 200; Chouji, a big-boned boy who was Shikamaru's best friend and a big eater; Rock Lee, an enthusiastic boy that like to sprout 'youthfulness'; Tenten, a girl with brown hair tied up in two buns atop her head that seemed to have a major interest in weaponry; Kiba, a playboy-type of guy, Sasuke guessed; and finally, Naruto himself, who seemed to have a weak spot for ramen and a very, very loud voice.

"There's Sakura-chan too," Naruto said after introducing himself, "but she's always so-"

"Always so what?"

All heads turned at the sound of the pretty voice, and Sasuke was greeted with the sight of a petite but gorgeous girl, who had unusual pink hair that tumbled down her back in cascading waves and the most vibrant green eyes he'd ever seen. Her skin was ivory and smooth, and she had a slim, athletic build that was definitely gained by years and years of sporting.

"Forehead!" Ino screeched, pointing accusingly at the newly arrived girl. "You didn't tell me you were going to lunch today! Why didn't you text me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked over, sitting beside Ino- Sasuke made the new assumption that they were best friends- and grinned. "Calm your tits, pig. My battery was low." Ino opened her mouth to retort, but Sakura held up her iPhone, showing a clear 9% battery remaining on the top right-hand corner.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled. "It's about time you joined us! What, is today some kind of special day or something?"

"No, Naruto," Sakura said, running a hand through her pale pink locks, "Tsunade gave me a break today. Said I got the basics down- _finally-_ and that I deserved a break. No biggie." Turning her head, she finally realized Sasuke sitting there.

Sasuke watched amusedly as a faint blush painted across her pale cheeks, and her eyes widen. She was embarrassed, so to speak.

"Er..." She said flashing Naruto a look. After a minute, Naruto finally got what she was getting at, and smiled excitedly.

"Oh! Oi, Sakura-chan, this is the new kid...er, what was your name?" the blonde asked, looking at Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Yeah! Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke. He's eating lunch with us today cuz Ami was feeling him up this morning and all the girls were stripping him with their eyes so I invited him to sit with us."

Sakura turned towards Sasuke and smiled sympathetically. "Ami, huh? I feel for you." Extending her hand, she said, "Hey. I'm Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet you."

Sasuke usually avoided as much physical contact with complete strangers as possible, but he felt his arm extend and his hand envelope her (incredibly soft) hand warmly.

"Sakura-chan's pre-med. But she's also Baa-chan's apprentice, because she's so smart and Baa-chan is the best doctor in the whole country, so yeah. Sakura-chan's real smart." Naruto rambled on, while Sakura blushed furiously.

"Naruto's just exaggerating," she smiled, cheeks still flaming. "I'm really not that smart."

Ino let out an unelegant snort. "Yeah, right. Just like you're not _pretty, _right? It's not like there are guys who pretty much _glue _themselves to you when you walk by."

"They _do not," _Sakura protested, and the two engaged in what seemed to be a typical, every day argument, as nobody moved to interrupt them.

Unconsciously, the corner of Sasuke's lips tilted upward as he felt himself leaning back and _enjoying _being around others, for the first time in a very long time.

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**Note: **Why did I add a new chapter when I said I wasn't going to finish this story until _Forget-Me-Not _was done? No clue. Inspiration strikes whenever, so...yeah.

Tell me what you think! :)

-A


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